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Tyla Rattray returned from a serious knee injury to post 2-1 moto scores for
the overall win in the MX2 class.
crashed. It was in a bad place, because I
had to waste time turning around and
starting the bike again when all the riders
were flying past me. I came back to third,
which was okay, but people couldn't
understand that I am disappointed with
second. I really felt I was fast enough to
win the GP."
Third overall went to Estonian rider
Aigar Leok. The KTM rider has struggled
throughout the season, but he finally put
it all together in the final race of the year.
Leok had competed for most of the season on a KTM 125cc machine, but he
recently changed to the 250cc fourstroke, and it's proved to be a wise
choice.
"My goal at the beginning of the season
was to get into the top fIVe, but it went
wrong for me pretty much from the first
race," Leok said. "I had a good start in the
second moto, but Tyla was too fast.
SWitching to the 250 was hard for me in
the beginning, but it is great to finish the
year like this and go into next season on a
positive note."
Is there any stopping nine-time World
Champion Stefan Everts in the MX I class?
At the Grand Prix of Ireland, Everts took
overall victory number 87. (yes, he
matched the win record of Ricky
Carmichael, who also has 87 wins.) Just a
few days before the Motocross of Nations
begins in Ernee, France, Everts rode to his
fourth moto win and second GP victory in
the last two weeks. The Belgian legend is
on form, and nothing would make him
happier than to be able to run with
Carmichael when the two meet.
"I still like to ride my bike," Everts said.
"Today the track was pretty good. It was
tricky, but the rougher the better for me,
and I was able to be at my best in the second moto, when it was more difficult. Ben
[Townley] was pulling away, but it was not
possible for him to make that same pace
the whole race. In the beginning, I tried to
set a good rhythm, and when I saw that
he was slowing down a little, I knew it
was the right time to attack. As soon as I
passed him, I pushed as hard as I could for
four or fIVe laps, and the race was won. I
enjoyed the GP and I had a good weekend. My condition was good towards the
end of the season, and this helped me
mentally. It has been a hard year, with a
few mistakes, but it came good towards
the end, and I proved that I have been a
good champion this season."
Ben Townley once again showed he
can race with Everts in the MX I class, but
after leading the second moto by 18 seconds, he still missed out on the overall. It
was Townley's last ride in a Grand Prix, as
he heads to America in 2006 to race the
AMA Motocross Lites class.
"I finally got a holeshot in the second
moto and built up a lead of about eight
seconds," Townley said. "I don't think that
I went much slower, it's just that Stefan
really picked up his speed. He had better
lines than me, especially where he moved
past. I pushed so hard, but Stefan was just
better. I was happy with my riding today.
There were a lot of people on the last lap
who were clapping for me, and it was
great to see the crowd at the finish line
like that. I have built up some great
friendships here in Europe, and I am going
to miss everyone. I really hit me today
that I am going."
It seems that every time Josh Coppins
looks fast enough to win a Grand Prix, he
has some sort of bad luck. A terrible start
in the second moto put him back in the
pack and meant that he had to work his
way through the field. Once again, he was
forced to settle for third place.
"The first race, I had a good start, but
I was a little slow in the sand section,"
Coppins said. "I was riding okay. I couldn't
come back to any better than third. In the
second race, we made some changes to
the bike, and it was better. I pushed
through to fifth and was working on
[Pascal] Leuret and crashed big in the
whoops on lap four. I was 14th or something and rode hard to come back. I had
used so much energy, though, that I was
really tired in those last few laps, and
[Steve] Ramon got me. I still finished third,
which was okay, and I was able to get third
overall. I really wanted to be on the podium with Ben today, because it's not often
two riders from one country like New
Zealand are on the podium together." eN
GRAND PRIX OF IRELAND
DESERTMARnN, IRElAND
17, 2005
17)
RESULTS: SEPTEMBER
(ROUND
17
OF
e-u
MX I MOTO I: r. Stefan
(Yam): 2. Ben Townley
(KTM); J. Josh Coppms (Hon); ~. T.".j Leok (Kaw); S.
M;ckael Pkhon (Hon); 6. St... Ramon (KTM); 7. Kmn
Strijbos (Suz); 8. Jonathan IWngan (KTM); 9. James Noble
(Hon); 10. Ken De D;jcker (Hon); II. Antti Pymonen (TN);
12. DaM)' Theybe.-. (Suz); I]. Brian J<>